The Jharkhand High Court issued a scathing indictment of the state’s law enforcement on Monday, observing that the Jharkhand Police appears to have “lost direction” and is consistently failing to meet the high standards required for criminal investigations.
Presiding over a bench on Monday, Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad pulled up the state police for a lack of effectiveness that has eroded public confidence. The court’s remarks come amid a series of high-profile cases where judicial intervention was required to move stalled or botched investigations forward.
The court’s rebuke was prompted by several recent developments that revealed what the bench termed “serious inaction” by police personnel. Justice Prasad specifically highlighted three troubling cases as evidence of systemic failure:
- The Kokar Case: The ongoing search for an 18-month-old infant who went missing from Kokar.
- The Bokaro Skeleton Discovery: A missing girl’s case in Bokaro where police only recovered a skeleton seven months after the initial incident.
- The 2020 Bokaro Murder: Another missing person case from 2020 where it was only after the High Court began monitoring the investigation that the truth was uncovered—the girl had been murdered.
Justice Prasad remarked that the court is now forced to intervene and issue specific directions in nearly every investigation to ensure progress, suggesting that the police are no longer capable of conducting proper inquiries independently.
The bench made these observations while hearing an appeal filed by Sonu Yadav. Yadav was seeking the suspension of an eight-year prison sentence handed down by the Sahibganj Sessions Court.
The case against Yadav is particularly grave: he and several others were convicted of killing a witness who had testified against them during a previous trial for an assault case. The High Court took a firm stance on the matter, rejecting Yadav’s application for a suspended sentence.
In addition to the systemic critique, the court moved to ensure accountability in the specific matter of the Sahibganj conviction. Justice Prasad has directed the Sahibganj Superintendent of Police (SP) to file a formal status report regarding the case.
The ruling serves as a stern reminder to the Jharkhand police administration that the judiciary expects a higher standard of forensic and investigative rigor to restore the public’s trust in the legal system.
